LinkNotes: Intelligent Bacterial Nanorobots

2008-11-04

Intelligent Bacterial Nanorobots

Voyage of the Bacteria Bots

Self-propelled microbots navigate through blood vessels.

Researchers at the École Polytechnique de Montréal, in Canada, led by professor of computer engineering Sylvain Martel, have coupled live, swimming bacteria to microscopic beads to develop a self-propelling device, dubbed a nanobot.

To do this, Martel used bacteria that naturally contain magnetic particles. In nature, these particles help the bacteria navigate toward deeper water, away from oxygen. "Those nanoparticles form a chain a bit like a magnetic compass needle," says Martel. But by changing the surrounding magnetic field using an extended set-up coupled to an MRI machine, Martel and his colleagues were able to make the bacteria propel themselves in any direction they wanted.

clipped from wiki.polymtl.ca

NanoRobotics Laboratory

clipped from wiki.polymtl.ca

Research

Development of an upgraded MRI-based platform for tumor targeting and drug delivery

MRI-based tumor targeting enhancement with magnetotactic bacterial carriers

Development of MRI navigable biocarriers and biosensors in blood vessels

Magnetotactic Bacteria (MTB) based microsystems and methods for the implementation of computer controlled biocarriers and biosensors

Development of microsystems and phage-based biosensors propelled by MC-1 Magnetotactic Bacteria (MTB) operating under computer navigation control for the fast detection of pathogenic bacteria

Development of microfluidic-based microsystems and techniques based on magnetotactic bacteria being controlled through software algorithms for Lab-on-a-Chip and micro-Total-Analysis Systems (µTAS)